You're one of the first people who's never lived in a world without The Godfather.
In September 2015, David Sims argued that Martin Scorcese's Goodfellas endures as a more realistic, if not more beloved, portrayal of the mafia than even the Francis Ford Coppola classic.
Around the time you were born, the United Nations admitted both East and West Germany as members.
In April 1992, Cullen Murphy wrote about a solution for neatly dealing with deposed leaders of authoritarian states.
You were born in September of 1973. This year, The Atlantic celebrates its 160th birthday, making it 3 times as old as you.
The year you were born, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. wrote about why the powers of the presidency spiraled out of control under Richard Nixon.
Paramount
This is what Hollywood thought teenagers looked like the year you became one.
Ferris Bueller's Day Off was released in 1986.
Patrick Hertzog / AFP / Getty Images
At 16 years old, you saw the collapse of the Berlin Wall.
“It was thought that all borders between men had similarly disintegrated, and we were all destined to be free and empowered individuals in a global meeting place,” wrote Robert Kaplan 20 years later.
Around your 18th birthday, the Soviet Parliament voted to suspend all Communist Party activities within the Soviet Union.
In December 2011, Alan Taylor published a photo essay looking back at the fall of the Soviet Union.
Your life can be divided into two halves: before and after Amazon.
In March 2016, Ian Bogost wrote about the next stage in Amazon's commercial revolution.
Mario Anzuoni / Reuters
In 2005, Neil Patrick Harris, who was born the same year as you, began starring in the television show How I Met Your Mother.
In October 2014, David Sims wrote about Harris's performance as the host of the 87th Academy Awards.
Goran Tomasevic / Reuters
When you turned 37, you saw the rise of the Arab Spring.
People across the world rediscovered the power and peril of revolutions, as Laura Kasinof found in Yemen.
By the time you turn 58, the collective GDP of the four leading developing countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) is likely to match that of today's leading Western nations.
In February 2012, Charles A. Kupchan wrote about the world's emerging economies, and how the world will look by 2050.
History is happening all around you, every day.
The Atlantic is here to help you process it, in stories like these:
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